Home recording attachment for phonographs



B. F. ROEHRIG HOME RECORDING ATTACHMENT FOR PHONOGRAPHS Fil'ed Sept. 30. 1924 2 s t -sheet 1 gwumtoi,

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Aug. 17 1926. 1,596,376

8. F. ROEHRIG HOME RECORDING ATTACHMENT FOR PHQNOGRAPHS Filed p Q 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 5. F Roe/m V gmmto'n Patented Aug. 17, 1926.

UNITED STATES BERNARD I. ROEHRIG, 01 LOS ANGELES, CALHORNIA.

HOME RECORDING ATTACHMENT FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

Application filed September '30, 1924. Serial No. 740,766.

In the specification of my co-pending application Serial Number 639,67 9, filed May 17 1923, the nature of the invention is set forth as follows:

5 My invention relates to a novel method of and means for recording sound. The primary object of the invention is to provide means, in the nature of an attachment, adapted to be used in conjunction with the standard phonographs already in the homes of the country and by means of which any owner of such a phonograph may make a record having substantially the excellence of the standard records and that at a very small cost.

In the early stages of the development of the phonograph when soft wax cylinders were used as records, home recording was very wide-spread and very popular. But

with the coming of the gramophone and the substitution of the comparatively hard disc records for the soft wax cylinder records, home recording stopped, because the material of which the disc records are made is much too hard for recording and furthermore the design of the disc machines is such as to render them unsuitable for recording purposes:

First: Because the reproducer and tone arm must be of such weight as to make them too heavy to be run over a material soft enough for record making purposes; and

Second: Because in these ma hines there is no feeding mechanism to feed the recording stylus over the wax. The elimination of the comparatively expensive feeding mechanism of the earlier machines was rendered possible in the disc machines because of the nature of the material of which the 49 records are made. This material is of such hardness that the spiral groove itself serves as a feed for the stylus during the playing of the record.

Thus it will be seen that home recording was stopped, not because it was not a source of enjoyment to the people but because the nature of the machines being marketed, lacking as they did any feeding mechanism, rendered them unsuitable for home record- 50 ing purposes. The demand on the part of the public for some instrumentality by which records may be made in the home is just as great as it ever was.

It is the purpose of the present invention to fill this need by the provision of instrumentalities of such simplicity that they may be manufactured and given to the public at a very small cost.

Briefly stated the invention resides in the provision of a record tablet having a preformed spiral groove formed therein and in utilizing'in conjunction therewith a recorder comprising a recording stylus adapted to travel in said groove and a rider which travels in the smooth portion of the groove ahead of the recording stylus, said rider serving to support and propel the recorder and (in the present embodiment of the invention) a horn to which said recorder is attached.

The device of the present invention is designed to provide highly efiicient means for carrying out the foregoing objects of my parent invention in a facile and economical way.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved type of clamp adapt ing the structure for use in conjunction with phonographs having sides of varying thicknesses and varying heights.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means in the nature of a supporting bracket, the adjustment of which, about an axis, serves to properly position the recording stylus with respect to the record upon which it is to operate.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved reproducer particularly adapted for use in conjunction with records which have been acted upon by my recording mechanism.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows:

In the accompanying drawings 2- Figure 1 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation, illustrating a recording apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the horn support and the attaching bracket for the same.

Figure 3 is a detailed view of the underside of the rear end of the horn illustrating a ferrule which constitutes a part of the connection between the horn and the recording head.

Figure cording head,

4 is a detail plan view of the reillustrating the position of the center post of the turn table of a phonograph with respect thereto, when the recording head is properly positioned.

Figure 5 is an enlarged section view through the recorder.

Figure 6 is an underside plan view of the recorder.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the forward end of the stylus holder.

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the reproducer hereinafter described, and

Figure 9 is an underside plan View of said reproducer.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates the front wall of the case and 6 the turn table of any standard, disc type phonograph. Since it is an object of the invention to place a complete recording apparatus upon the market as an article of manufacture, adapted for universal use, it becomes necessary to provide such a structure as may be readily fitted upon ,phonographs having panels of varying thickness and height. To this end I have provided a clamp comprising a pair of separable elements adjustable toward and from each oth er and one of which carries a binding ele ment. By adjusting these elements toward and from each other an initial approximate adjustment, to suit the device to the phonograph to which it is to be applied, may be had, after which the mere tightening of the binding screw will quickly secure the apparatus in place, from time to time, as it is desired to use the same. Th securing means by which the foregoing objects are attained, comprises a Pair of L-shaped plates 7 and 8, the horizontal portions of which overlap. The plate 7 is provided with slots 9 through which screws 10 pass, said screws taking into th plate 8. Thus by loosening said screws the vertical portions of the plates may be adjusted toward and from each other to cause the clamp constituted by the sai plates and the binding screw, to approximately fit the wall or panel 5. The binding screw is indicated at 12 as being threaded in the vertical portion of th plate 8 and it carries a felt pad 13, upon its inner or contacting end to prevent the marring of the finish of the wall 5.

In like manner the inner face of the vertical portion of the plate 7 is protected. by a felt pad 14 and the under face of the horizontal portion of the plate 8 is likewise protected by a felt pad'15.

A sleeve 16, mounted on the front face of the vertical portion of the plate 7 is provided with a binding screw 17, said binding screw being adapted to engage and bind against movement, the vertical leg 19' of a supporting bracket. This bracket comprises vertical leg 19, horizontal leg 20 and an upstandin terminal end 21. A sleeve 22 is mounte to turn upon the terminal end 21 of the bracket and a horn 23 is pivoted to said sleeve through the medium of an ear 24.

At its rear end the horn carries a ferrule 25, said ferrule being slot-ted at 26 for the reception of a guide pin 27, that is carried 2y the tubular neck 28 of the recorder head.

he recorder head comprises the tubular neck 28 above referred to, a cup like body 29, and a diaphragm 30 which spans the cup like body and is held in properly spaced relation thereto by a suitable gasket 31. A ring of cement, rubber, or other suitable material indicated at 32 holds the diaphragm in place. So far as described, the recording head is Very similar to known devices. In furtherance of the object of the invention, I provide a spider 33, upstanding ears 34 of which engage the periphery of the cup like member 29 of the recorder head, whereby the said spider is clipped upon said head. The material of the spider is struck out to form a. lug 37 said lug being bent over upon and holding the end of a hard steel wire 38, which constitutes a rider and acts in a manner which will be presently described. The spider 35 is slotted as indicated at 39 and the wire 38 is bent to form the portions 40 and 41 whichlie in said slot. Thus it is manifest phat While the rider may yield vertically, in said slot, it cannot twist or turn to one side but upon the contrary is held properly in a vertical plane by reason of the engagement of the spaced members 40 and 41 in the, slot 39.

The recording stylus proper is indicated at 42, said stylus being mounted in a stylus mount 43. The stylus mount is preferably made from sheet metal and comprises a tail 43 which is passed through and engaged with the diaphragm 30 at 44. The seat for the stylus is formed at the juncture of said tail with flaring wings 45, 46, having ears 47 at their upper ends which ears pass through and are engaged with the diaphragm 30. The seat of the recording stylus 42 is formed in the stylus mount 43 by alternately depressed and raised portions of the sheet metal of the stylus mount. The depressed portions are indicated at 43 and a raised portion is indicated at 43*.

In using the device of the present invention, a purchaser, upon initial-use of the device adjusts the plates 7 and 8 to approxithat the recording head will lie horizontally. He further adjusts the position of the recording head with respect to the center post of the turn table by swinging the supporting bracket in an are as indicated at A in Figure 2 so that the recording head will be properly positioned upon the record irrespective of the distance from the wall 5 to the center post of the turn table. Thus it is manifest that the several adjustments provided render it possible to attach the appliance to phonographs having front walls of varying thickness, of varying height and of varying distances from the center post of the turn table and still properly position the recording head for the service required. After having been once adjusted, mere manipulation of the screw 12 serves to attach the appliance upon subsequentoccasions. The several adjustments provided for, render it unnecessary to clamp the apparatus in any particular position upon the frontpanel or wall 5. It may be placed in any approximately correct position and thereafter adjusted accurately, by the means described. Furthermore it is not necessary to remove the horn from the bracket when changing records because the construction of the supporting bracket and the means for pivotally mounting the horn thereon is such as to permit the horn to hang vertically from the supporting bracket when not in use.

The record indicated at 50, is a record such as was disclosed in my co-pending application referred to. In other words it is a record having a pre-formed spiral groove therein in which the rider wire constituted by the parts 38, 40 and 41 ride. It is the bight or bent portion of the wire, indicated at X in Figure 5, which engages in the groove of the record. The rider wire lies a little to one side of the stylus 42 or in other words a distance equal to the distance between three of the grooves of the record. That is, the rider travels in the smooth portion of the groove ahead of the stylus and the material of the record is of a wax like nature adapted to be actually out by the recording stylus. The rider yields sufficiently to permit the recording stylus to come in contact with the material of the record. In other Words the rider is deflected from the position shown in Figure 5 to a position where it lies level with the stylus with each of these elements carrying its correct proportion of weight. This divis on of weight has been proportioned so exactly that the rider performs its function accurately and efficiently and the stylus in turn, is forced by its correct proportion of weight, against the record blank. thus clearly and distinctly registering all sound waves imparted thereto by vibration of the diaphragm to which the stylus mount is attached. This arrangement of the parts permits the use of a short horn since the varying angle which the center line of the horn assumes with respect to the tangent of any groove, as the stylus and rider follow the spiral groove from edge to center of the record blank, has practically no effect on the position which the stylus and rider must maintain in their respective grooves. In other words it is not necessary to pivot the horn at a considerable distance from the stylus as in my previous construction.

In my former construction I employed a jewel rider. The spring wire rider of the present construction is much more economical to manufacture and in addition serves the function of supporting part of the weight.

My improved reproducer illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 comprises an extension 52 interchangeable with the neck extension 28 and carries a pin 27 corresponding in function to pin 27 of the neck extension 28. In other words the pin 27 is adapted to enter the groove 26 of the ferrule at the lower end of the horn and serves to insure correct alignment of the parts in each instance. A cup like head 53 is spanned by a diaphragm 54. This diaphragm is held in place by suitable gaskets 55 and 56 and these gaskets are in turn held in place and compressed by a split ring 57 which. when compressed. can be sprung into place within the flange 58 at the lower end of the cup like head 53. The ring 57 not only serves the function of compressing and holding the gaskets in place but it serves as a mounting for a lever 59 which is pivoted at 60 in ears 61 struck from and depending from a web 62 of the said ring. At its outer and short end, the lever carries a jewel or stylus 63 and at its inner end it is slotted as indicated at 64 for the reception of the strand 65 by which it is attached to the diaphragm 54. Thus the movement imparted to the lever 59 under the impulses imparted to the stylus 63 by its engagement with the record, is compounded, with the result that the impulses imparted to the diaphragm 54 will be correspondingly multiplied and increased volume in sound delivered will result. As before stated the extension 52 is interchangeable with the extension 28 in such manner that no adjustment of the horn or its supporting bracket is necessary, when changing from recorder to reproducer.

Having described my invention what I claim is:

1. A recorder for use in conjunction with records having pre-formed grooves therein, comprising a diaphragm, a stylus supported from said diaphragm and a yieldably mounted rider for travelling in the grooves of the record ahead of the stylus,'said rider being arranged to yield to such extent that the weight of the recorder is carried partly by the rider and partly by the stylus.

2. In a device of the character described a recorder adapted to act upon records having pre-formed grooves therein, said recorder comprising a diaphragm, a stylus supported by said diaphragm and a yieldably mounted rider which lies to one side of the stylus and engages one of the grooves of the record in advance of the one engaged by the stylus and in, substantially, the transverse plane of the stylus.

3. A recorder for use in conjunction with records having pre-formed spiral grooves therein, said recorder comprising a diaphragm, a recording stylus supported from the diaphragm and a rider consisting of a bent hard metal wire, the bight portion of which engages the grooves of the record in the transverse plane of the cutting point of the stylus.

4:. A recorder for use in conjunction with records having pre-formed spiral grooves therein, comprising a diaphragm, a recording stylus, a cup like head in which the diaphragm is mounted, a spider spanning said head and a rider carried by said spider and engaging the record at one side of the stylus and in the transverse plane of the cutting point of the stylus.

5. A structure as recited in claim 4 Wherein the said rider comprises a bent steel wire.

6. In a device of the character described the combination with a cup like head, a diaphragm spanning the same, a stylus mount secured to the diaphragm, a stylus mounted in the stylus mount, a spider spanning the cup like head and having a slot formed therein, and a rider of hard steel wire comprising a return bend portion both runs of which are engaged in said slot to prevent turning movement of the rider, the bight portion of the return bend constituting the contact point of the rider, said rider lying to one side of the stylus and in the transverse plane of the cutting point of said stylus.

7. In a device of the character described, a stylus mount comprising an elongated tail and a pair of flaring wings, said tail and the upper ends of said wings having portions adapted to be bent into engagement with the diaphragm and a stylus seat formed at the juncture of said Wings and tail.

8. A structure as recited in claim 7 Wherein the stylus mount, is formed of sheet metal and wherein the stylus seat is formed by bending said metal in opposite directions.

9. A recorder of the character described comprising a cup like head, a diaphragm carried thereby, a spider spanning the cup like head a stylus mount and stylus supported from the diaphragm and a rider of hard steel wire comprising a longitudinally extending portion which lies along the upper face of the spider and is secured thereto and a downwardly inclined return bend, said spider being provided with a slot in which both runs of said bend engage, the bight portion of the return bend constituting the contact point of the rider, the wire of which the rider is made being of such nature as to render it vertically yieldably.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

BERNARD F. ROEHRIG. 

